Just a day after I saw the first ones iPhone 7 reviews si AirPods reviews, today we have the first Apple Watch2 reviews, although they are not flattering for the product. Most of those who have tested the Apple Watch 2 say that Apple is turning the smart watch into a stronger competitor for fitness bracelets.
More precisely, the implementation of a dedicated GPS helps a lot to more efficiently monitor fitness sessions, a lot of people are asking for this from Apple. Unfortunately, battery life remains a problem, with users having to charge their Apple Watch 2 daily to be able to enjoy the functions of the smart watch.
In terms of performance, watchOS 3 has been significantly improved from this point of view, so everyone praises the speed with which applications are opened. Unfortunately, this does not change the situation with the battery autonomy, the rest of the functions being of course also available in the old model of the Apple Watch sold by Apple.
Apple Watch 2 reviews
CNET
"The new Apple Watch is faster, has a far better OS, onboard GPS, a brighter display and is waterproof to 50 meters in salt or fresh water [...] [But the] same battery life, mostly. GPS activity causes a big hit on battery life for running. Lacks always-on display. A tad thicker and heavier [...] The Apple Watch returns in a made-for-sports upgrade that adds swim functions and GPS, but anyone who's not a runner or swimmer should consider the Apple Watch Series 1 instead."
Daring Fireball
"WatchOS 3 fixes most of Apple Watch's problems listed above. The Series 2 hardware fixes nearly all the rest (the off-by-default display will need at least one more leap in battery life and/or display technology). It is clear that Apple recognized what was wrong — not just the obvious issues like slowness, but the abstract ones like the user interface's conceptual mushiness — and addressed them […] The screen brightness has doubled […] Battery life is better […] The built-in GPS works very well in my testing […] You can officially swim with it […]
The new Edition model is made of gorgeous white ceramic. Priced starting at $1,250, it feels like Apple now has a handle on where the Apple Watch fits in the luxury market. It also seems like they're working with a material that could be relevant to other product lines."
Mashable
"While little has changed in Apple Watch design, Series 2 and the latest software, calledWatch 3, do represent an important strategic shift. In particular, the new OS moves aside cutesy features like Digital Touch (that's where you draw on the screen) and sharing your heartbeat in favor of more utility [...] On the inside, though, is all-new hardware, including a brighter display, the S2 SiP ("System in Package") which includes a new dual-core CPU and a new GPU, a larger battery and a special speaker system that plays sound and handles water […]
The most exciting part of this multi-organ transplant is surely the new SiP. It makes the Apple Watch Series 2 faster and more responsive than the original Apple Watch in almost every way."
The Loop
“[The GPS means] I don't need to take my iPhone with me on my daily walk, which has given me a strange sense of freedom... If you look at the map, you can see it's colored. Yellow is the average pace for this particular walk; Green is above the average pace; and Red is below the average pace. This is tremendous information to have [...]
The new white Apple Watch Edition is stunning to see in person. I often talk about Apple's attention to detail—this new ceramic watch epitomizes that. I want this ceramic watch as much as I wanted the black iPhone—it's gorgeous."
Pocketlint
"The new watch features a much greater focus on fitness; it's a device that tries to bridge the void between a basic fitness tracker, like products from Fitbit, and a full-blown dedicated sportswatch, such as those from Garmin […] With built-in GPS, a better battery (although it's still very much one day per charge), water-resistance and a much greater focus on fitness, the Apple Watch finally works at workouts.
That's a massive gain over the first-generation device and one that is likely to appeal to those who want more than a Fitbit, but who are scared by an all-powerful, athlete-focused watch from Garmin or Polar. However, for those who take their sport very seriously, we still can't see the Watch 2 replacing a dedicated sports watch just yet. It's really for those looking for a do-it-all device that could easily go with a suit or some Lyrca."
Techcrunch
"It delivers on the promise of a mostly passive device that can accomplish simple tasks in 1-3 seconds. There is now built-in GPS which allows for exercising without having to lug along a comparatively heavy iPhone just to get accurate tracking. And it's completely waterproof, as any decent sport watch should be [...]
Because of the speed and brightness, I have already found myself using the Watch for interactions more often […] Think of Apple's new ecosystem like a body. The iPhone is the brain, the AirPods are the mouth and the Apple Watch is the hand. And that hand is starting to get more independent and more useful."
TechRadar
"Almost every single upgrade offers something of tangible benefit: the GPS chip, the faster internals, the water-resistant frame. Suddenly the Apple Watch is able to last longer and track you better, and even offers you the chance to get better at a new activity. But it is expensive – so it's not a simple case of 'Got an iPhone? Buy this, post-haste!' […]
The Apple Watch 2 feels more like a great gift than a necessary purchase – it's the cost that prevents it from being a strong buy. It doesn't feel like it's too expensive when you hold it and discover what it can do, but ultimately it's still more of a novelty than a necessity – the apps required from developers to make it the latter still aren't coming to pass. "
TheVerge
"Let's call it what it is: a fitness tracker. The Apple Watch Series 2 is exactly that. It's what Apple had resisted calling its wearable for the past year and a half, even declining to categorize it as such when citing industry rankings, opting for the "smartwatch" category instead. It is definitely still a smartwatch. But the Watch now has focus, and that's a good thing […]
I've noticed the display still doesn't wake up every time I raise or twist my wrist, which is annoying. And, even though the screen is now brighter and easily visible in normal daylight settings, it's still tough to see in direct sunlight. At the end of the day this is a smartwatch with a retina OLED display, and not a reflective display like on other sports watches. It also doesn't measure elevation when you're recording an outdoor workout [and] it's still a charge-every-day kind of thing if you work out, which is one of my least favorite aspects of smartwatches."
